Muv Luv Alternative VI
by ses009
Summary: They were everywhere; we just didn't know. Answering the call to arms after a traumatic death, Shirogane Takeru would start the most ambitious plan to counter the BETA invasion that humanity would ever undertake...


**Of course, Muv Luv Alternative is age's, this is a fanfiction.**

**The motivation to write this fanfiction was partly inspired by PaulXion's Muv Luv: One Last Time into the Loop, and I hope to write something nearly as compelling (MLA was also compelling). I've pretty much compressed everything until the 12/5 incident to this one chapter, so you don't have to wait a bunch of chapters for the story to start. Towards the end of chapter 1 is pretty much where I'll radically depart from cannon.**

**Prologue**

**Monday, October 22, 2001**

"Sumiko!" Takeru screamed, tears streaming down his face, his right arm reaching out into empty space.

He knew where he was the instant he saw the ceiling. Back in his room. Back in his room from his original world. Back where he, Sumika, Meiya and the rest of the gang lived their lives carefree. When waking up each day was a normal occurrence, and not a gift from God.

He wiped the burning tears from his eyes; he did not have time to waste wallowing in anguish. He was certain that this would be the final loop. He would _make_ certain that it was.

Quickly, he grabbed his gear from his room, ticking down the items from a pre-calculated list, taking _special_ _care_ to get his GameGuy. The Imperial katana which he held clutched in his hand, also seemed to have had made the journey with him. It was something he hoped for, but was not sure about.

He could not afford to make any mistakes this time, he knew this room would disappear as soon as he stopped tying it to this world. He then took out some paper and furiously started writing things down, repeating the process a second time to make sure his memory was not getting corrupted; his ties to the previous loop would sever any minute now and he had to make sure the plan was in this world before his memories of the past loop disappeared. He burned the first copy and put the second in his pocket. Finally, he looked at himself in the mirror for a once over. Though his school uniform closely resembled his UN cadet uniform, he knew it would get him nowhere without proper ID. _Not that it would matter._

He opened his door and was greeted with the sight of a post-apocalyptic world. Around him, the whole town was in ruins, the carcass of a long dead TSF lying on a collapsed house seemingly welcoming him to this reality. This time, it was different; he was different. He knew that this was not a dream, and did not feel the excitement and wonder he did the first time he saw it. No, he knew exactly what the blue metal carcass was and all it entailed... the BETA.

This time will be different, he swore.

...

The words of General John Radhabinod were still seared into his memory, _"Such is... the armed forces."_

He found himself standing in the Sakura-tree lined street that led to his former school. Now, the trees stood seemingly lifeless, a monument to past fallen soldiers among them. No, they would never accept Alternative V, just like Takeru. Alternative IV _absolutely_ could not fail this time. He would see it through this time, with his own hands.

To hell with Yuuko-senei.

...

He made his way to Yokohama base, taking care to keep his distance from the entrance; no need to repeat what always happens with the guards.

He kept at attention there for quite some time, sifting through his memories, trying to gather up his courage for what was to come. The familiar background sounds of TSFs sorties and gunshots down in the range helped root him to where he was. He was back on Earth, back in Japan, back in the town the that he had lived in and where the other Takeru had died. After a while he gave a sharp salute to Yokohama base, his old comrades none the wiser.

_See you soon..._

Takeru, giving the base, his home and family for so many subjective years one last look, headed back the way he came.

There was no more time to waste on memories.

_He had a world to save._

**Wednesday, October 24, 2001**

It was the first time Captain Isumi Michiru had seen anything like this. As commander of the A-01's 9th Squadron, the "Valkyries," she had taken her squad into many situations against the BETA that would best be described at _suicidal_; this situation, however, was not.

"Valkyrie 01 to Valkyrie Mum, still nothing in sight."

"... Valkyrie Mum copies. Looks like it's pointless. We've been given orders to return to base. The VC wants a debrief from you immediately after your return."

"Understood," Isumi replied and cut the line. She set a flight path back to Yokohama base with the rest of her squad.

...

"And they completely deny any knowledge?" Vice-Commander Yuuko said to someone on her line. She waved Isumi into her office, continuing the conversation. Isumi recognized the other speaker's voice as that of General Radhabinod.

"Yes," the General replied, "it's as if he knew exactly where all the holes in our security network are. The Imperial Guard did not notice him until he was already in the water. By the time they could send out a sortie, he was gone."

"... that's very interesting," Yuuko mused. "If it really is the RLF, it seems odd that they'd want to tell us where the holes in our security are without actually doing something with that knowledge."

"Nothing we know about at least," the General replied. "But even men from intelligence doubt this is RLF. Vice-Commander, we need to speak again later. Hopefully, we will have discovered this intruder's identity by then." He cut the connection and Yuuko gave her attention to Isumi.

"This really was the oddest thing to happen in a while," sighed Yuuko. "Your report Captain?"

"Ah, from our search, we found that the TSF was somehow salvaged from the derelicts in the city ruins, unlike our original assumption," Isumi started. "All TSFs in the base are accounted for. Somehow, whoever did this made the unit operational enough to escape undetected. We searched the area where the derelict was supposed to be and found that one of the abandoned houses were used as his shelter. A burned uniform similar to a male cadet's was found that matched the description of the male that was sighted near the base two days ago by the guards. We also found ashes of what were presumably his instructions in the house; a forensic team has been dispatched to try to salvage what information can be had from the unburned remains."

"As for the intruder," she continued, "we charted his route to Sagami Bay where the US 7th fleet is currently moored. We have already sent the route to the intelligence division to analyze and plug the holes in the network. And from your earlier conversation, can I assume it was the Americans who denied any knowledge of this?"

"Yes," Yuuko replied darkly. "That will do for now, dismissed".

After the Captain left, Yuuko collapsed back in her chair. She was already exhausted, trying to surmount her current problems with Alternative IV, and now this nonsense. If it was just a little RLF prank, then it was someone else's problem. But if this was another attack from the Alternative V supporters, she was not sure how to defend against it.

_I don't even know what they did while they were here_, she thought. And it's so obvious the Americans were involved, like anyone buys that nonsense about not seeing the TSF.

Hopefully the forensics team would get some intel from the burned remains. The last thing Alternative IV needed was a surprise attack.

**Thursday, November 08, 2001**

"Hahaha!" Yuuko LOLed. After calming down, she continued in a darker tone, "This is a seriously hilarious prank..."

She was seeing a picture of the derelict TSF (identified as a Gekishin) lying on the beach in Oguchi Cape for anyone landing or taking off from Ōshima (大島) Airport to see. What made it funny was that the Gekishin was in a Ō (大) pose, like how the Island's name was spelled.

"Since there isn't much activity there, we only found this today," General Radhabinod reported, clearly also amused at the prank, but none too amused at its instigator. "Some surveillance shows it was left there the same day as the escape, but it seems the TSF's autopilot was given instructions about landing there. The pilot was long gone before that."

"The US 7th fleet?" Yuuko suggested.

"Probably not," the General replied. "Our intelligence analysts believe that the pilot rendezvoused with a stealth submarine in the area and is beyond our reach. Besides, the 7th fleet started making some strange movements recently, and if they really have the pilot on board, I doubt they'd want to raise suspicions."

"Strange movements?" Yuuko asked.

"Yes," he replied, "the Americans suddenly sent F-35's and F-18's from the 7th fleet and F-22's from the 108th and 132nd Tactical Armored Battalions near Niigata's coast to have some sort of war games."

"War games?" Yuuko asked incredulously. "Why there? It's not like the BETA would invade Sadogashima or something. Do you think Alternative V is making a move?"

"I'm not sure either," the General replied truthfully. "I think that maybe we should recommend that the Japanese government have the Imperial units in the Etchu and Kaetsu provinces of Niigata go to DEFCON 3 as a precaution."

"If you say so." Yuuko said doubtfully. This all seemed way too strange, even for a Alternative V attack. "We'll continue keeping DEFCON 3 at Yokohama base until we get more information. All of this is making me very uncomfortable. Invasion at Niigata, preposterous!"

"Agreed," the General said, and ended communications.

**Sunday, November 11, 2001**

**0620 hrs**

"Multiple contacts!" someone suddenly shouted. Everyone in the CIC (Command Information Center) of the AEGIS missile destroyer stopped whatever they were doing and listened with laser focus. The loud thunder of automatic AL (Anti-Laser) missile launches and blaring klaxons moments later would steal the attention of all the crew in the Japanese Imperial fleet.

No one expected this to happen.

The captain mirrored the AEGIS contacts on the main screen.

"AEGIS confirms a herd sized BETA group heading south of Sadogashima!" the operator said, confirming the captain's fears.

Fleet wide, AL missiles and artillery pounded the island. BETA laser class responded in turn, causing the warheads to explode in the air, contaminating the area with an AL heavy metallic cloud. Conventional and HE weapons followed, wiping out a large number of the contacts. Fleet wide, captains prayed they could contain the threat.

**0627 hrs**

Reports came from the Imperial Navy that a herd sized BETA group broke past their defense line. Already, BETA destroyers could be seen surfacing on the coast, quickly making their way into the mainland.

**0648 hrs**

One of three prongs in the BETA formation made their way to the old national highway. The 12th division of the Imperial Army awaited them. Luckily, Imperial units in the Etchu and Kaetsu provinces of Niigata were at DEFCON 3 at the time and were quick to sortie after the Navy's first contact. In another stroke of luck, American F-22's from the 108th and 132nd Tactical Armored Battalions in the area reinforced the Imperial Army.

**0710 hrs**

The rest of the Imperial Army's 12th met the other two prongs of BETA in the Chuetsu and Kaetsu provinces of Niigata. In continued fortune, F-35's and F-18's from the American 7th fleet also happened to be in the area, reinforcing the Imperial Army. The 14th division soon followed, resulting in stunning victory with record low losses.

**0830 hrs**

"Congratulations Professor Kouzuki!" General Radhabinod said enthusiastically.

"Who? Wha..." Yuuko could only stare at the video phone groggily, still exhausted from several sleepless nights.

"And _suggesting_ the Imperial Army go to DEFCON 3 because of the American's _war-games _was some very subtle tradecraft," he laughed.

"What is this about?" Yuuko asked still confused. She was reminded of their conversation a few days ago, but otherwise had no idea what he was talking about.

"Come now, the Americans already admitted that Alternative IV gave them the intel needed to predict the BETA invasion from Sadogashima," the General replied. "Does this mean you have been able to successfully infiltrate the BETA's communication networks? Just this milestone alone is a huge accomplishment."

"Wait, what's this about an invasion?" Yuuko asked incredulously. "Did the BETA attack Japan?"

"Yes..." the General replied, taken aback. "You even told me that the BETA would invade from Sadogashima yourself, did you not? I thought you were just joking at the time."

"General... This is the first time I've heard any news about this." Yuuko replied ominously. "To be honest, Alternative IV doesn't have that capability yet, we need the 00 unit first."

"Then who on Earth planned this? You are the lead for Alternative IV. If the supporters of Alternative V had such a capability, why would give us credit?"

"Do you think they want us to take the fall when we fail to predict the next invasion?" Yuuko replied.

"No, just being able to predict one correctly is a major breakthrough. They would have been better served taking credit themselves."

"General, it looks like I am about to get an avalanche of calls, lets speak later. For now, I'll accept credit until we get a handle on what is going on."

"Understood," the General replied and cut the line. For the next few hours, Yuuko was ambushed with communications from several high level leaders, and promises of increased funding. Imagine how the war would turn once BETA movements could be predicted and contained. Reclaiming the Earth no longer seemed beyond reach. News of the accomplishment (but not Alternative IV's involvement since it was still a secret to the public) spread like wildfire, reaching other countries even.

But Yuuko boiled inside, wanting to know why this was happening, and why Alternative IV was getting the credit. The fame and funding would be great, until the next attack was missed. Her thoughts turned to the TSF that was abandoned in Ōshima. If it wasn't just some stupid RLF prank, was it connected? As soon as the annoying calls and requests for meetings started dying down, she would have Lieutenant Elena Piatif inventory the whole base and look for the slightest thing missing. Yuuko had a very bad feeling as to what was to come.

**Friday, November 23, 2001**

Squad 207 had been on cloud 9 ever since they returned from their Comprehensive Combat Skill Evaluation. Even with Sakaki Chizuru and Ayamine Kei's squabbling, they had managed to pull it together, determined not to repeat their previous mistake. They had taken their Eishi aptitude tests two days earlier and were surprised to find that their personal TSFs were being delivered today.

Kouzuki Yuuko, on the other hand, was at her wits end. American TSFs had infested her base, requiring refit and repair after the Sadogashima attack. She was wary of their presence, suspecting an Alternative V attack, but they had mostly cleared out by now, with only a few F-22's remaining. Squad 207's units had also arrived much earlier than expected. Even with all the funding that she had received due to the invasion from Sadogashima, the order predated that. It specifically said to let the base VC remove the TSFs' vinyl before deployment. Whoever was up to this was mocking her, and it pissed her off _immensely_.

She was torn as to whether to indulge in the pleasure, as doing so would be like playing into the hands of this invisible puppet master. What she hated the most about all of this was the uncertainty. Was this a Alternative V trap? If not, was it an ally, and if so, why all the secrecy?

After Sadogashima, there were other routine BETA attacks, but it seems another attack was successfully predicted in the EU, which again, gave credit to Alternative IV.

General Radhabinod arrived at the same conclusion as her, that this was an American plot, and the escaped TSF pilot was probably connected with all this. But he also concluded that this was not an Alternative V plot. Yuuko was still skeptical, but for now, she tried to keep up with the situation.

General Radhabinod found that the Americans were stonewalling him about this. None of his nor Yuuko's contacts could determine what they were up to. They only knew about was strange movements in America's homeland, deployment of resources and assets for no reason, except that the orders were coming directly from the highest annals of power. That is to say, the president of the US himself was involved, and he was a known Alternative IV supporter.

**Wednesday, November 28, 2001**

Yuuko's theories about the BETA predictions being an Alternative V trap were starting to feel dubious. For one thing, why would they try to take out Yokohama base in such a blatant manner if the BETA predictions were part of their plan. In fact, attacking Yokohama base with an HSST (Hyper Surface Shuttle Transporter) seemed like a reaction to the claims that Alternative IV actually predicted the BETA attacks. A desperate last ditch effort to eradicate Alternative IV with force before it made any more substantial progress towards a viable attack of Kashgar.

The professor defended from the attack by having Tamase Miki use the prototype 1200mm OTH (Over-the-Horizon) Cannon to shoot down the HSST before it could do any damage.

She was, however, surprised to find that among the American stragglers, there was TSF that had a weapons package that would be able to take the HSST down if Tamase had missed all three shots, albeit with some damage to the base due to the proximity of the shuttle. Having questioned the pilot, he said he had been ordered deployed with the package during the Sadogashima invasion, and happened to be waiting here with the rest of his squad.

Yuuko had resigned to consider this invisible person or organization her rival. They did not seem to want to hurt Alternative IV, but since they were an unknown, she would have to remain guarded.

**Thursday, November 29, 2001**

"Good evening Professor," an annoying voice said in the dark. Yuuko had just entered her room, tired after a day of dealing with the aftermath of the HSST attack. She was already frustrated with the lack of progress with Alternative IV and the constant distractions, but when she turned on the light, she was greeted with the face of one of her largest irritants, Yoroi Sakon of the Imperial Ministry of Information.

"What is it that you want?" she asked in an irritated tone. Even if he was annoying, he was of some use to her at the moment.

"I have always wanted a son," he trolled, dejectedly. "I sometimes get confused about it and treated my daughter as a boy..."

"Very funny..." she said, not in the mood to deal with his nonsense. The shady old man got the hint.

"Results from the remains of the evidence from that day have finally come out," he said matter-of-factly, piquing Yuuko's interest.

"Was there any useful intel?"

"It did mention Alternative IV, but that was all we could recover in relation to it," he said. Yuuko was right, whoever escaped with the derelict TSF was connected to Alternative IV. This made it more likely that it had something to do with the people she now considered her rivals.

"It also mentions the date 12/5," Yoroi continued, "though nothing of relevance happened in the past on that date, as far as the Ministry can tell. We also identified the person who wore the uniform using DNA analysis."

"WHO!?" Yuuko demanded. She had no idea that they would get a lead like that. Maybe it would lead them straight to the people who have been manipulating her from the shadows.

"It seems the dead walk among us..."

"... eh?"

"One example would be zombies. They are known to be reanimated, and prefer to eat human brains. Speaking of which, I once came upon this curious food called head cheese in an American refugee camp. There wasn't any brain in the ingredients, but it was a very interesting dish..." Yoroi prattled.

"Yoroi, get to the point..." Yuuko said, exasperated. Yoroi gave a big smile.

"The person was identified as a Shirogane Takeru, who we know to have been killed by the BETA in this very town..."

"So, this evidence was all planted here to throw us off," Yuuko concluded.

"That remains to be seen. As to why Shirogane Takeru was singled out, the Ministry has concluded that there is nothing of note about him. A strange riddle indeed..."

"Well if that's all you have to report..." Yuuko asked hopefully. It sounded like it was all a bit of counter-intelligence to distract the UN or Imperial Army from something, which meant it wasn't her problem anymore.

"There is also something I need to tell you about the XG-70 deal."

"What? You moved all of them here already?" Yuuko exclaimed. Getting her hands on it was one of the lynch pins of Alternative IV. It was a disgrace that the UN needed a third party to handle negotiations between members, but Yuuko couldn't give a damn about her methods.

"They're all gone," he said, taking Yuuko completely by surprise. Before she could say anything, he continued, "The Americans say that they lost control of it to some other agency, and though I couldn't ascertain the party, it seems that it's out of reach from us. They must have found a very important use for it if they would miss a chance to have you in their debt."

_This must be an attack by the Alternate V supporters,_ Yuuko thought angrily. She had been too distracted with the BETA predictions and running into a wall with Alternative IV to defend from such attacks.

"Our sources also report some other alarming behavior from the Americans," Yoroi continued, no doubt about to reveal some more terrible news to Yuuko. "Believe it or not, our sources report a strange black object operating in the vicinity of Area 51 in Nevada, while recently, the utilities in the area announced unplanned diversions of power from several nearby nuclear plants. They also report a large number of mothballed R&amp;D projects being reactivated among them, something called the Super Elite Soldier (SES) plan, and the design of a next generation space-based TSF. I think it's some kind of lame science fiction story dreamt up by some lonely teenager, but we have gotten reports that NASA satellites have sudden become more active, tracking something we couldn't get any intel on."

"Don't tell me you seriously think that America is planning a new front in space?" Yuuko said sarcastically.

"We were hoping that you might be able to shed some light on this," Yoroi replied with a mischievous grin, "the last time you mentioned the Americans preparing for an invasion from Sadogashima, it came true..."

"I didn't think the Imperial Ministry of Information made a habit of bugging high level UN jokes..." Yuuko sighed. Looks like she would have to have a security sweep on top of everything.

"Then perhaps I should enlighten you on the ecology of the dodo bird..."

"No thanks..." Yuuko said, feeling a renewed sense of frustration.

"Dodos were originally..."

"Section Chief Yoroi!"

The two continued making plans for the future, discussing the unrest in the imperial army and its short term implications, among the other schemes that they had in motion.

**Tuesday, December 04, 2001**

"-Imperial Army disaster relief squadrons evacuated several squatters when the volcano showed signs of activity early yesterday morning. There were no serious difficulties, and all fourteen civilians are not safe and secure..." a broadcast droned in the background of the PX.

News of Mt. Tengen's eruption and subsequent evacuations dominated most of the idle chatter at Yokohama base recently. Even now, Squad 207 could be seen in the PX arguing as to the rights of squatters when put up against the priorities of the military. To the surprise of her squad mates who were ignorant of her origins, Meiya passionately took to the side of the squatters, while most of the rest of the group leaned towards the military.

Gossip soon turned to the newest arrivals at Yokohama base, four F-22's from the American test flight group called the Infinities. Though they were insanely skilled test pilots, they were not greenhorns like most test pilots that had never fought an actual BETA. Rumor had it that they had gotten combat experience in Yukon base, their last post, where they fought against RLF and BETA in September. No one knew why they were here, only that they were to refuel and refit en route to be extracted by the 7th fleet in Sagami Bay.

Whatever their mission was, the team looked exhausted. They barely made an appearance in the PX before grabbing sack time. All the while, the base's personnel marveled at their cutting edge TSFs, still a rarity out here in the Final Defense Line of Japan.

**Chapter 1: 12/5**

**Wednesday, December 05, 2001**

Suddenly, the base's alarm went off. "Moving to DEFCON 2," came from the PA. "All combat squadrons stand by in full gear. Repeat, moving to DEFCON 2. All combat squadrons..."

Squad 207 was scheduled to have a mock battle today, but for some reason, this morning they were told to stand by and wait in their rooms. With the base alarms going off, they knew instantly that the needed to find instructor Jinguuji Marimo.

"Good morning everyone!" Yuuko greeted, as if they were casually meeting for breakfast.

"Salute!" Marimo ordered. Squad 207 had gathered in the briefing room.

"I keep telling you to quit it with the salutes..." Yuuko complained. "Here, this is the latest we know about the situation."

"I have already briefed the squad about the basics..."

"Take a look..."

"... you want to tell the cadets... these kind of details?" Marimo said incredulously.

"Don't mind..." Yuuko continued. "They're my personal squad. As the base XO, I need them to know things like this from now on."

"Yes ma'am..." Marimo replied, earning a sign from Yuuko.

"XO," Lt Piatif said in an urgent tone, "a call from the 11th Pacific Feild Army HQ."

"Ah, mou..." Yuuko complained. "Marimo, come here..."

The three high ranking officers discussed some things among themselves.

"Anyway," Yuuko finally said, having finished their discussion. "Good luck Marimo-chan, greenhorns. Try not to die out there!" And with that Yuuko and her secretary quickly made their way to wherever they were heading. Even with her cheery exit, it was obvious to all that she seemed very agitated after the call. Needless to say, Squad 207 had a very unusual impression of the VC, because of her outrageous behavior. They had heard about how eccentric she was, but this was the first time they really saw it firsthand.

"In two hours at about 0700 hrs," Marimo started saying, having been brought up to speed by Yuuko and Lt. Piatif, "there will be an announcement from the UN Security Council. The American 7th fleet that was deployed in Sagami Bay will be incorporated into the emergency response. At the same time, Yokohama base will receive American troops."

She continued on about what was happening with the coup d'état. The Ministry of Defense had finally surrendered, and the Royal Guard were ready to defend the Shogun from their forces. Imperial Army would probably be pulled from the final defense line while gathering forces to mount a counter offensive.

The ringleader was identified as Sagiri Naoya, who personally executed a number of the government's cabinet members as traitors to the nation. He addressed the nation in a broadcast that the squad listened in on. Sakaki Chizuru, however, was extremely distracted, worried about the fate of her father.

Though Marimo said that she thought that with all the troop movements, the cadets would not be called upon, they were to remain in emergency standby nonetheless, at least until the situation cooled down.

Soon after American forces started occupying Yokohama base, a whole Imperial Army armored division surrounded it. Though it was a natural response to the presence of a foreign occupier, escalating tensions seemed like a bad idea. But for now, the Imperial Army held back, keeping a watchful eye.

News also spread that a squad from the Royal Guards had arrived. Their intimidating Takemikazuchi in sharp contrast to their American counterparts.

...

After waiting nearly the whole day on pins and needles, the squad was summoned to the briefing room around 2000 hrs.

"-The provisional government in Sendai has officially accepted UN military aid." Marimo said. This was due to negotiations between Undersecretary Tamase and the provisional government. Their priority was to secure the Shogun.

The American 7th fleet, which was deployed in Sagami Bay, was en route to Tokyo Bay. The American forces occupying Yokohama base would immediately be dispatched to the capital. UN Forces were already on the way, while others were mobilizing to follow suit. The 3rd TSF Armored Battalion in particular was moving to cover the 2nd defense line, which the Imperial Army withdrew from.

But what shocked them was that they were being deployed. It was for "rearguard duties" as Marimo described it, but Squad 207 was actually being deployed into a combat zone. They were to defend Tougashima Fortress, formerly BETA controlled land, which was South West of Yokohama base and directly opposite the capital. Marimo, as a veteran herself, would take command. They would be accompanied by the Imperial Honor Guard's 19th Independent Guard Unit, though only Meiya knew the real reason why.

...

En route to the South Eastern shore of Ashinoko, where Tougashima Fortress was, word came down to Squad 207 that fighting had started in the capital, due to a single soldier shooting at the Honor Guard. American and Imperial forces had finally begun their invasion of the capital, but Marimo said that their mission was unchanged.

...

In the CIC, Yuuko was on a secure line. "And you've confirmed their progress? Okay." She hung up, and went about keeping track of the situation.

"Vice-Commander," Lt. Piatif called. "I have the Captain of the USS Mount Whitney on the line for you."

"USS Mount Whitney?" Yuuko asked. "Where have I heard that before?"

"She is the flagship of the 6th Fleet."

"WHAT?" Yuuko said, startled. "Is the 6th Fleet here? Why would the Americans send a European fleet here?"

"Radar confirms that it's just the flagship and two guided missile escorts." The lieutenant answered. "I think the fleet is still in Europe."

"Understood, I'll take the call," Yuuko said.

"Also ma'am, The Infinities Test Flight is requesting clearance to sortie. They say they have orders to extract with the 7th fleet immediately."

"... mou, whatever, good riddance." Yuuko said, assenting. They were an annoyance that landed on her base without warning. Whatever their mission was, she could care less, she was just glad to have less Americans infesting her base. "And keep an eye on the Whitney, tell me if you see anything strange."

"Aye, ma'am."

"This is Vice-Captain Kouzuki Yuuko, to whom am I speaking?"

"This is Captain James B. Kirk of the USS Mount Whitney."

"What are you doing so far from home captain?"

"I was ordered by the Rear Admiral to stay on station at Tokyo Bay." He explained. "We were a little shocked to learn about a full blown coup happening when we arrived ma'am."

They were sent here before the coup; it seems like even the Captain had no idea about it. But the Americans had positioned the 7th fleet in Sagami Bay for some time. Why would they send the flagship here without instructions for the coup?

"Captain, what are you orders, now that you're here? Will you be linking up with the 7th Fleet on their way to Tokyo Bay?"

"Ma'am, my orders were to stay at Yokohama Port and seek you permission to land an engineering team in one of your maintenance bays. I haven't received any new orders."

Yuuko considered her words carefully. If this really was a ruse, it was a poorly planned one. Why use an engineering team when several American wings were present? "Captain, you have my permission. Please coordinate the details with my lieutenant."

"Thank you ma'am." The captain replied, and was switched over to Lt. Piatif.

She walked over to Lieutenant Suzumiya Haruka's station. On one of her radar panels was the USS Mount Whitney and her escorts, making final approach to Yokohama Port.

"Anything strange?" Yuuko asked intensely. With everything going on, this situation stuck out too much for her to just dismiss.

"I've kept an eye on it since it entered Tokyo Bay," Haruka explained, "but I haven't seen anything strange. I thought maybe there was a radar blip but that was it."

"Understood," Yuuko replied, and made her way back to her seat. "Keep me informed of any new developments." She added.

"Yes ma'am!"

...

"Don't you think it's strange?" asked Sharon Heim on the squad's secure channel.

"Yes, I think this country is strange." Leon Kuze replied sarcastically. "After all, he's practically one of them..." he continued, referring to an old rival back in America.

"No, I mean, we're a test flight in the end." Sharon clarified. "Why were we sent into combat. And why are we in Japan in the first place?"

"Orders." Guylos McCloud said simply.

"You know that's not what I meant!"

"It was the Commander's orders." Keith Blazer said. "This project is directly under his command, and for whatever reason, he believes that we needed to be in Japan to complete testing. We are bound to do a technology transfer to the Imperial Army anyway, so he probably wants us to start learning how they do things here."

"Ha," Leon laughed, "You really think their rinky dink TSFs could handle it? It took almost everything out of us and we're using F-22's!"

"How rude!" Sharon said.

"Enough. All of you need to keep focus so we can super cruise to our destination on time." Keith interrupted.

"I just hope that whatever is at Tougashima Fortress was worth lying to the VC of Yokohama base." Guylos said.

"The Commander will rendezvous with us there, so don't worry too much," Keith said to reassure them.

...

Here in Sendai, it was snowing; maybe it's because they were at a higher altitude than in Yokohama. The snow fell down softly, and everything was muffled in silence. Even with all the fighting happening in the capital, here, all Marimo's cadets could do was watch and wait. Marimo wouldn't want it any other way; her cadets weren't even ready for their first combat with BETA, let alone hardened Imperial veterans. She was content waiting here, away from the fighting, where her squad would be safe.

An alarm went off.

"Multiple contacts!" Marimo warned to her squad, bringing them to attention.

"I count 4 bogeys within 100m!" Chizuru confirmed.

_How did they get so close?_ Marimo wondered in panic.

Before they had time to react, they received a message on an open channel.

"This is the Infinities Test Flight, do not shoot."

The squad's IFF finally registered friendly US F-22's. It seems that the Infinities expected their IFF to announce them while they were still hidden by their stealthy TSFs.

"Sorry about that, we didn't think the snow would jam our signal." said the same voice.

"Oh thank God!" Marimo said in relief. She really did not want to have a firefight right now while commanding Squad 207.

"This is Tsukuyomi Mana of the 19th Independent Guard Flight, what are you doing here?"

"This is Inifinty-1," he identified himself. "We are under orders to accompany Squad 207 until our Commander arrives in the area of operation."

"Under whose authority?" Marimo demanded. Yuuko didn't mentioned anything about this.

"We're not at liberty to divulge that information right now ma'am, but we are to follow your orders until our Commander arrives."

...

The Infinites were very cooperative and listened to Marimo's orders as they said. She felt really safe now that on top of the Imperial Honor Guard, the Infinities Test Flight was also there to help. But it worried her that for simple rearguard duties, why would Yuuko send them? There was something fishy about this deployment, but because of the weather, she could not get in contact with Yokohama Base, even to confirm whether Yuuko had sent the Infinities herself.

Whatever the case, with the new additions, they had over a squadron's worth of TSFs, and hopefully they would be able to handle whatever Yuuko had sent her way.

**Thursday, December 6, 2001**

"This is Blackbird calling 20700. Do you read?"

It was a little past midnight and Marimo was embarrassed to find that she had started to doze off. Since the arrival of the Infinities, nothing really happened. She had Squad 207 keep watch in shifts, but someone was contacting her directly on a secure voice-only line.

"20700, do you copy?"

"Ah... yes, this is 20700. Identify yourself."

"This is Blackbird," the person just repeated. Clearly whoever it was did not want to state his identity. She could even hear a voice masking filter, but could tell he was speaking fluent Japanese and not using the automatic translator. "I hope the Infinities Test Flight did not cause you any trouble."

"No, they were very cooperative." Marimo replied, deciding that she would give up trying to get information from him. Yuuko must have sent him if he could communicate with her directly using an unsolicited encrypted channel. Maybe Yuuko sent him to tell her what they were really sent here for. It was odd, though, that a Japanese person would command an American test flight.

"Roger," he said. "I have a lock on your position, beginning descent." He closed the channel.

"Descent?" Marimo asked too late. She didn't see anything on radar, so she assumed that he was in an F-22 that was close enough for communications. But scanning the skies, she saw no conventional aircraft, so what did that mean?

"Infinity-1," Marimo called, opening up a team wide channel. "Is Blackbird your Commander?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied. "Has he contacted you?"

"Ah yes, but he said that he was beginning his descent. What does that mean?"

"Hah, you're gonna wanna see this!" Infinity-2 exclaimed.

"Agreed," Infinity-1 said, surprising Marimo. "He's probably heading to us from Yokohama Base's direction so I would enjoy the show."

"Is that so..." Marimo answered doubtfully. With the long wait, this new development had the attention of all the pilots from Squad 207, the 19th and the Infinities.

...

BOOM!

Marimo had though that they were under attack, but soon realized that it was a sonic boom that she had heard. She still didn't see anything on radar, so she knew it wasn't a support aircraft. But her IR scan found a heat source heading in their direction. Her HUD showed that it was decelerating from supersonic speed, so that must have been the mysterious Blackbird. Whatever it was, it was still invisible to radar, just like the F-22's, but it was clearly capable of travelling much faster.

The heat source started growing into an orange hot shape vaguely resembling a TSF. By the time radar could identify it, Marimo knew for sure that it was a TSF.

"What is that?" Tamase asked.

"I've never seen anything like that..." Chizuru added.

"A new American weapon?" Lt. Tsukuyomi wondered out loud.

The TSF aero-braked hard, hovering to a stop about 200m from Marimo. The intense air pressure of its maneuvers blew snow clean off the trees behind it, and ever seemed to cause some to lean away. Even some of the support vehicles near the command post had the snow blown off of them. It landed with a heavy thud and seemed to open up its heats sinks. The orange hot panels on the TSF had cooled down into the familiar super-carbon black that covered the bottom of HSSTs. Her IFF identified the unit by its UN designation: SR-71, Blackbird.

Though it didn't look like an F-22, it shared the same stealth foundations. It was barely showing up on radar, now that its surfaces were cooling down. It must have come down from the edge of space with the kind of heat it was dissipating, snowflakes melted roughly a 3m away from the surface of the TSF, everything around it was turning into steam.

Whoever was flying it must have been a veteran. The TSF was outfitted with a Storm Vanguard load out, which was odd, since American doctrine did not condone close range combat. Its Jump units were larger than normal, and its lower legs looked like they were its main engines for supersonic flight. And like the F-22, it had a compound eye structure on its head, though the eyes seemed to be placed all around its body for a 360 degree view. It was a machine that would hold its own in a fight, but it was obvious that the SR-71 was built with intelligence missions in mind. This TSF was clearly meant for Mach 5 or above, and it could probably do that while flying near the edge of space.

But even if that altitude was supposedly clear of laser-class, HSSTs had been shot down. What kind of person would fly something so extreme and dangerous.

And more importantly, why was a person like that here?

"This is Blackbird," the pilot announced on a squad, voice-only channel. "Infinities Test Flight, hold your positions. 20700, what would you like for me to do?"

"Ah..." Marimo thought that he was going to pass along new orders. It seems he intended to just wait here with Squad 207. "I guess you can hold a position here." she finally said, assigning him a new position.

"Understood."

And that was it.

Of course, the rest of the pilots were probably gossiping in private about their new arrival, but once again, everything became muffled in the silence of the snow.

...

Yoroi Sakon was the type of man who always commanded control. He could bring down the guard of the most secretive men, or wear down the resistance of the most intelligent women (a red hair beauty would come to mind). He knew what his allies and enemies alike were up to. Every step of every plan of his was calm and calculated.

He didn't like surprises.

So, how would a man such as Yoroi react when he was blindsided by an unknown assailant with a gun to the back of his head?

"They say that Dodos went extinct partly because they were never afraid of humans..." Yoroi started.

"Yoroi Sakon," the gun holder simply stated, and removed the gun from his head. Yoroi took it as a signal that the unknown assailant wanted Yoroi to face him.

But the fact that he knew Yoroi's name, and exactly where to ambush him meant that the gunman might know why he was here in this isolated wilderness.

He kept his hands up and slowly turned around. He was however, surprised by who he saw.

A young Asian boy, no older than a new cadet, holstered a US Marines issued Baretta M9. His most distinguishing feature was the medial eye patch taped to his left eye. Clearly he was an American, but why would someone so young be wearing an Orbital Divers' Armored Suit?

"Calm down, Yoroi," the clearly Asian American boy said in fluent Japanese, "I'm not here to kill you... today."

"Maybe because they had no natural predators, they were not prepared for the onslaught that humans would bring to their habitats..." Yoroi continued.

The young man reached behind him and pulled out what looked like something packaged in plastic and threw it to Yoroi.

"Get her suited up, we can't waste any more time here," he ordered.

"For someone like you to be waiting here... well, I suppose I should thank Professor Kouzuki..."

"Yeah, yeah," the boy said impatiently, completely dodging Yoroi's trolling. He fidgeted with something in his wrist, and a loud, steady thumping could be heard. In no time, he was greeted with the sight of a large black behemoth.

An SR-71 Blackbird. What kind of devils was Yuuko making deals with to get her hands on someone that piloted that? Even the American CIA had no known operational SR-71's in their fleet. Everyone knew that Orbital Divers were crazy, but these types of pilots were who Orbital Divers called crazy.

"I've always wanted a son... sometimes I confuse my son for a daughter... or should I say daughter for a son..." Yoroi kept prattling. "With her small chest it's easy to make a mistake you see..."

He was trying to coax the boy into telling Yoroi his name, but the boy's impatient glare made him decide to bring the princess out of hiding instead.

"Yoroi, do you know this person?" Kobuin Yuuhi, Shogun of the Empire of Japan asked. Having changed into the Armored Suit that was found in the package, it was clear this person was sent to pick Yuuhi up.

"Not personally, unfortunately," he replied. "But pilots such as him have their reputation precede them. I am sure Professor Kouzuki chose him for a good reason."

Yuuhi looked at the boy dubiously, but was still nonetheless impressed by his TSF. Her attendant, however, was glaring at the boy, seething in fury.

"Ah forgive me," the boy said to the old lady in fluent Japanese, "but seeing as I'm an ignorant American, I only know how to be rude."

The old lady was about to rage at the young boy, but Yuuhi shushed her.

"That's right, where is your HQ?" Yoroi asked suddenly.

"In the Odawara west Interchange ruins." the young boy said, getting a disappointed look from Yoroi. "But I think you'll be better suited with the command post, it's at the old checking station."

"I see..." Yoroi replied thoughtfully. "My apologies, Your Highness, but please go with this man. He may not be the most fitting escort, but since this is an emergency..."

"I understand..." Yuuhi replied. "I shall impose upon this..." Clearly she was waiting for him to introduce himself, but the boy just stared at Yoroi, clearly uncomfortable introducing himself in the presence of the old man.

Breaking the silence before the old lady could rage, he said, "As the SR-71 has a dual seat cockpit, she'll be as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances."

"And the inside of a TSF cockpit is the safest place for Her Highness, don't you agree?" Yoroi asked Yuuhi.

"Yes, I trust your decision." Yuuhi replied.

"It would be best to take her to Yokohama... Grand Chamberlain, you should go to the Command Post."

"I understand..." the old lady replied. "Gaijin, protect Her Highness, understand?"

"Yoroi, what will you do?" Yuuhi asked, worried.

"Your Highness, I have one more job left to perform... so I will be taking my leave for a while. Blackbird-san, take care of Her Highness."

"... you watch your back, okay?" the boy replied sincerely.

"Yoroi, I am greatly indebted to you..." Yuuhi said, "may fortune favor your mission."

"Thank you very much."

"I do not wish... for any more of my retainers to perish. Please take care."

"... for those who fell and those who cut them down are all loyal servants of yours, so Your Highness must no doubt be in great pain..." Yoroi started, making a grand speech.

tl;dr

"I will return to the capital at once, and do what little I can to bring the situation under control." Yoroi finally concluded.

"I would be grateful." Yuuhi replied.

...

Though they were having no luck contacting Yokohama Base, the command post did get a message that the Shogun had secretly fled to their area. Battle had ceased in the capital, with the coup d'état sending forces to all nearby fortifications to secure the Shogun. Marimo ordered Squad 207, the 19th, and the Infinities to standby for combat.

"This is Blackbird to Command Post..."

"This is Command Post," Marimo replied, a little annoyed that this unknown person was bothering her in such a tense environment, "go ahead." How pretentious was he that he refused to use a normal video channel... maybe pilots of secretive TSFs were all just paranoid.

"Be advised that there are two civilians heading your way. Try not to shoot them." he said sarcastically. "Though you don't have to not shoot the old man if he gets uppity..." he mumbled, barely audible.

On an open, voice-only channel, he continued, "Infinities Test Flight, form up on me; Diamond formation. We're heading back to Yokohama base." Without question, the Infinities immediately left their positions and followed their commander.

"20700, Lt. Tsukuyomi, I would advise you follow us, you know, if you feel like it." he taunted.

"How dare you..." one of the three idiots started.

Marimo almost said something similar, but Tsukuyomi kept her head cool and asked "Why are you returning to Yokohama base, and why would we want to follow you?"

"... Command," the TSF pilot started, seemingly ignoring the Honor Guard, "be advised that Blackbird has secured the Shogun and is en route to Yokohama Base while the Imperial Honor Guard eats out dust..."

Instantly, the 19th gave chase after the Infinities before they lost them on radar. Marimo, on the other hand, hesitated. She had yet to hear back from Yokohama base, as the weather was still too bad to get a direct connection. She didn't know who Blackbird was, if this was part of Yuuko's plan or what. But when her TSF's long range sensors identified one of the civilians as Yoroi Sakon, she made up her mind.

"Cadets, you may still be greenhorns, but your nation is calling for your service. Form up on me, Arrowhead formation!"

And with that, all the TSFs that had been waiting here for a seemingly mundane rearguard mission headed back for Yokohama Base with the country's most VIP.

...

By the time the Grand Chamberlain and Yoroi finally made it to the Command Post at the old checking station that Blackbird had pointed them to, the combined Japanese/UN/American squadron was long out of communication range and the Shogun was safe from the enemy for the near future.

The vehicles at the Command Post were nearly done packing up, as the TSF units they were supporting had left, but they had purposefully waited enough for the Grand Chamberlain and Yoroi to reach them. Upon reaching them, the Grand Chamberlain was ushered to a civilian friendly vehicle, while one of the officers approached him. Yoroi greeted the young woman with a smile, incredibly unburdened now that the Shogun was safe.

"Yoroi-san?" the officer asked.

"Yes officer, what can I do for such a beautiful specimen like you?" Yoroi trolled, causing the much younger officer to blush.

"Erm... one of the TSFs sent a secure text-only message for you before they left communications range." She handed him a datapad.

Yoroi looked at the short, simple message and suddenly dropped the pad. The man who always had total control of every situation and planned every step ahead of time stood there, his face completely pale.

_What have I done?_

...

The American TSFs kept their pace slow enough that the UN and Japanese Eishi could keep up. After confirming that Blackbird really had the Shogun aboard, the 19th argued fiercely about transferring custody of her to them instead of the American pilot.

The Shogun intervened, and they all agreed that since it was a twin seat TSF, it would make more sense to keep her in the Blackbird. Besides, in a pinch, the SR-71 could simply just outrun anything that was chasing them.

The Infinities and Squad 207 made an Arrowhead-3 formation around Blackbird, with the Infinities surrounding him and Squad 207 protecting each flank. The 19th would guard the rear in a hammerhead formation.

Since they knew that the enemy knew their position, Blackbird had originally been heading South. But despite everyone else not being able to communicate long range, Blackbird managed to get into contact with the USS Mount Whitney, which relayed their communications to UN command and the provisional government in Sendai. The Honor Guard accused Blackbird of lies and espionage (how was he the only one able to communicate), but Yuuhi vouched to the authenticity of it, since she was also privy to the alleged communications, though she was only listening in. The provisional government had accepted UN Army help under the condition that Her Highness' safety take full priority. The _only_ thing that mattered was to get Her Highness to Yokohama Base safely.

They had projected that the main coup forces, which were assumed to have been responsible for silencing the Imperial Army Atsugi Base and Squad 207's HQ at the Odawara Interchange ruins, knew their position and were heading south to intercept them. Furthermore, they were expected to break into three groups, E1, E2, and E3 to take advantage of the terrain and contain the Shogun.

The American 108th TSF armored Battalion was expected to stop E3, but that would leave the other two to work together, and probably attempt to choke them at the Hayakawa Toll Booth ruins, where the mountains were the narrowest.

The plan that HQ had was for them all (obviously, the Americans on their own would move faster, but the Japanese did not trust leaving the Shogun alone with Americans) to enter the mountains near Mt. Tougasa and come out in Old Shimoda City.

The 209th TSF Armored Battalion was expected to have arrived at Old Shimdo City to wait for the enemy by the time the Shogun arrived. From there, the Shogun was to rendezvous with the 11th Fleet from Yokohama Base at the Shirahama coast, then RTB via sea.

...

"What do you mean Blackbird!" Yuuko demanded. Yokohama Base finally restored communications with the Command Post's command vehicle. Immediately, she got a frantic call from Yoroi. "Squad 207 and the 19th were supposed to meet up with you!"

Suddenly, the CIC erupted in cheers. "Hold on a second," she told Yoroi. "Lt. Piatif, what is this commotion about?"

Indifferent to the situation as she was not Japanese like the majority of the CIC, she replied calmly, "We received word that the Shogun was safely secured from a secret underground railroad exit and is en route South to the 11th Fleet for extraction. It seems a US Intelligence pilot named Blackbird had secured her, and is being escorted by the Infinities, Squad 207, and the Imperial Honor Guard's 19th Independent Guard Unit."

Yuuko could only look at the Lieutenant incredulously. "... and you've confirmed that Squad 207 and the Imperial Honor Guards are unharmed?"

"Yes," the Lieutenant confirmed.

At this point, Haruka interrupted and said, "We're finally able to track them on local radar." She brought up their formation on one of her panels. "You can't really see the Americans on radar, but we are tracking them by their IFFs."

"... okay..." Yuuko finally said stunned. She went back to her seat. "Are you still there Yoroi? I'm not really sure what's going on, but I think you need to hear this too..."

...

"I am truly sorry..." Yuuhi said, sadly, "for causing you all such trouble..."

"We'll get you to Yokohama base no matter what. Leave it to us."

Yuuhi really appreciated how well her benefactors had planned her escape. If she had had to pilot her own TSF or sit inside one in a four point harness in her current condition, she was not sure what would have happened to her.

For the few idle moments that she wasn't preoccupied with the coup and how helpless she felt about all of this, she marveled at the secretive TSF's cockpit. For one, the view was amazing; inside the cockpit, the seats were surrounded with a 360 view display, giving the illusion that the two were floating in the air. She was in the rear Navigator's seat, with redundant conventional controls, in case the pilot in front of her lost control for any reason. In the pilot's seat was the mysterious American boy, who for whatever reason seemed Japanese as far as her instincts could tell. His controls were radically different, in that it looked like he was just sitting the with his arms on the arm rests. The normal control stick and other instruments weren't there. But somehow, he was controlling this TSF, moving so smoothly, she doubted she needed to take the anti-motion sickness pills he insisted she take. She dismissed it as an advanced American control system the Empire wasn't aware of, or did not mention to Yuuhi.

And mounted along the left side of his seat was what looked to be a katana wrapped in a delicate black silk. He seemed very eccentric for an American, but from what she knew about pilots like the Orbital Divers, it took a certain kind of personality to volunteer for such a risky position. Nevertheless, he treated her gently and kept tabs on her the whole time.

...

"05, Tamase! You're going too far away!" Sakaki Chizuru ordered.

"Working on it!" Tamase Miki replied.

"E3 broke through the Imperial Army!" Yoroi Mikoto suddenly exclaimed.

"Remain focused!" Mitsurugi Meiya demanded. "The Honor Guard is defending our rear!"

"00 to all units!" Jinguuji Marimo exclaimed. "Stay calm and maintain formation!"

"Infinity-2 to 20700," Leon Kuze demanded, "can't your people move any faster!" In truth, the Honor Guard and Squad 207 were struggling to keep up with the faster F-22's, whereas the Infinities Test Flight was itching to go into super cruise, not the least bit interested in fighting on foreign soil.

"Leon, that's too rude!" Sharon Heim exclaimed.

"Keep the line clear," Guylos McCloud chided. Keith Blazer was content to let the conversation end like that.

"This is Blackbird," he suddenly chimed in, "multiple unknown contacts are about to come over the ridge."

"I see them," Mikoto added, "multiple TSFs sighted at 4 o'clock!"

"You are cleared to engage!" Marimo ordered. "All units return fire at will! Keep Blackbird alive! But don't attack them first, they can't afford the risk of attacking us directly."

"Infinities, belay that," Blackbird ordered, contradicting Marimo. "Weapons hold."

"How can you say that!" Marimo demanded.

"You'll see soon enough," Blackbird replied. "207 and 19, I advise focusing on our flight." he said and cut the transmission.

On an open line, the enemies behind them tried to persuade them to stop in the name of Japanese sovereignty. Marimo argued more, but decided to defer to Blackbird for the moment. As he said, he and the Infinities could simply outrun them if they did fire at them, which it looked like the enemies did not want to risk.

Suddenly, more contacts appeared in front of them, shooting their way.

Obviously some of them panicked and started locking onto the contacts in front of them. However, the new contacts yelled at them to stop, after which they were quickly identified as friendly US F-22's. Any locks automatically disengaged on the friendly IFF signals. It was the American 66th TSF Armored Battalion, and they ordered the combined squadron to go past them while they took care of the Shogun's pursuers.

...

"Are you sure that you're alright?" he asked Yuuhi. She must have been more exhausted than she realized if she was distracting him while he piloted.

"You need not worry. I am quite familiar with piloting. Even if it is in name only, I am the supreme commander of the military."

"I see," he replied, seemingly unsurprised.

"But I must confess I merely have 96 hours of flight time."

"I think that's more than Squad 207's cadets," he laughed. She could tell that he was trying to comfort her.

Taking him up on his intentions, the Shogun continued on about how the Shogun used to be expected to take part in battle, and how now they were just figureheads. She was about to ask about Lt. Tsukuyomi, when they were interrupted by a message.

Major Walken, commander of the American 66th TSF Armored Battalion said that his troops would hold the pursuers at bay. In the meantime, the combined Squadron was to meet up at Kameishi Pass to be resupplied.

"Roger," Blackbird, Marimo and Tsukuyomi replied.

"Infinities," Blackbird ordered. "We're breaking formation and heading straight to the rendezvous. Try to keep up."

Immediately, Marimo and Tsukuyomi complained, but Blackbird replied, "It's not that far away, ladies. We'll see you there. You'll be able to resupply immediately when you get there since we'll already have finished."

With that, Blackbird started going supersonic, taking advantage of the ground effect. The Infinities followed suit, but struggled to keep up with the much faster SR-71.

All the while Squad 207 and the 19th struggled to catch up.

...

"If you don't mind," Yuuhi suddenly asked. They had already resupplied, and were just waiting for orders at this point. "How were you able to communicate with the USS Mount Whitney back then? Even Yoroi-san couldn't raise anyone."

"Ah, I see," he replied. He seemed to focus on something for a bit, and then a part of the display was highlighted. The highlighted part was zoomed in until Yuuhi could see what he was looking at. An X-47B stealth drone that had been presumably shadowing them this whole time. He brought out an external view of the SR-71 and showed its back. "As you can see, the SR-71 has an optional drone deployment package. This guy is high up enough that the weather doesn't bother it. He gave me a direct line to the USS Mount Whitney via a microwave LOS channel."

"That was clever," she complimented politely.

"Ah, but keep it a secret," he laughed. "Shh..."

"Shh..." Yuuhi replied, laughing as well.

Eventually, she had the courage to ask the question she really wanted to ask. And he told her that yes, the Lt. Tsukuyomi he had mentioned was the one guarding Mitsurugi Meiya from Squad 207. Understandably, he couldn't tell her why Meiya wasn't riding the Takemikazuchi she had arranged for her.

Surprisingly he even talked about Meiya herself. He described her intimately, as if they were close friends. Yuuhi found that she believed his words, as it sounded just like how she imagined her. He was an American Eishi, so she doubted that was the case, but seeing as how he was probably in some sort of intelligence like role like Yoroi, it wouldn't be that farfetched to think that he was briefed on Meiya and Yuuhi herself.

"Divide-the-world, huh?" he remarked bitterly, when Yuuhi mentioned how Meiya's and her fates were intertwined, but fated to be separate forever.

"It seems American intelligence was more informed about the internal dealings of the empire than I was lead to believe." Yuuhi remarked.

"... the CIA doesn't know anything about that," he replied. "It's something only I know for reasons only I know."

For whatever reason, he seemed to get very depressed all of a sudden. However he came upon these secrets seemed to weigh upon him heavily.

After awhile, he said, "I'd like to give you advice regarding her..."

"..."

"Have courage. This might be the last time you'll get to see her face to face..."

Yuuhi's face looked shocked, as she gripped the toy doll in her hand tightly. It was as if he was reading her mind.

"I feel like Yuuhi and I have gotten to know each other quite well," he said, blatantly using her name intimately. Up till now, he had only referred to her as _you_, but she thought it was because it was an American thing. "Let me let you in on my real identity..."

...

Except for the 19th, Major Walken assumed command of all the other forces. The friendlies keeping the enemies back were making a strategic retreat to prevent from being surrounded, but this was planned, so all units continued on the original path.

Unfortunately, Yuuhi seemed to be getting worse, almost delirious. Then news came that the coup aligned Fuji Instructional Unit had already made contact with 174th TSF Armored Battalion at Hayakawa Toll Booth ruins. Walken decided that they could push through since the Shogun was with them.

He also pulled some units out of formation to hold their pursuers back. His tactics paid off, as they safely got the Shogun past the choke point. But just when it looked like they held victory in their hands, the Shogun passed out. Even with an Armored Suit, the stress of the continuous combat maneuvers on top of taking pills, stimulants and the stress from the coup itself had taken its toll.

Major Walken set them down in a defensive position a little farther down the line. After making Yuuhi more comfortable, the Major wanted to give her triazolam. After a brief but heated argument, Major Walken stopped Tsukuyomi's stalling for time. He was about to force them to push ahead when the enemy had them completely surrounded.

They had stolen An225's from Atsugi base and in a reckless move had flown to catch up with them. Clearly, even without the short stop they had made, the enemy had them trapped.

Sagiri Naoya himself had arrived in the flight, and proposed a ceasefire. Of course, Walken thought it was a ruse to get the Shogun with infantry, but eventually, he agreed to keep it, relenting to Tsukuyomi's and Marimo's arguments about the coup's rational for fighting.

...

"And the orders have gone through? ... That's good to hear. Make preparations immediately. ... I'll be there soon. ... You of all people should know by now. ... Thank you, sensei."

It had been half an hour since the ceasefire were declared. Yuuhi had been moved outside for some fresh air, while he stayed put doing who knows what.

"Her Highness has summoned you," Kamiyo, one of the three idiots interrupted on an open channel. He exited the TSF and followed her as instructed.

He was relieved to find that she seemed to be doing much better. Her Highness spoke to him in private at length. She spoke about how they should be fighting the BETA, not each other. She also mentioned how he did not immediately dose her, and spoke of his apparent TSF skills. They also came across how the cadets of Squad 207 were deeply involved with the coup.

In the end, Yuuhi ordered everyone together for a meeting. Of course, some people had to keep watch, so not everyone was there, Meiya in particular. The Shogun spoke about how grateful she was for everything they had done. To everyone's shock, she even bowed her head before the Eishis that had gathered. She also gave words of encouragement to the cadets of Squad 207.

Finally, she came round to Blackbird. Since he had been using voice only channels, everyone was surprised to find that the commander of the Infinities was an Asian boy, probably the same age as the cadets. His eye patch only made them more wary of him, since he was wearing the distinct Armored Suit of an Orbital Diver.

"Blackbird-san..." she started, her palms covering his hands. "Due to recent events, we have exchanged words many times already, so there is little left to say here. However, please allow me to say this once again. I give you my sincerest thanks..."

"And I wish you... the both of you... good fortune in your enterprise. Know that you have the full support of the Shogun of the Empire of Japan." she finished cryptically. Clearly, the two had come to some sort of rapport during the brief time they spent together. The Honor Guards, in particular, were shocked with the Shogun's last statement. What had happened that Yuuhi had complete trust in this stranger, a foreigner no less, in such a short time.

Yuuhi finally got to the point of her summons and revealed that she intended to speak to the rebels directly. Of course Major Walken refused and the two of them, plus Tsukuyomi on behalf of the Shogun kept arguing. Meiya came up with the idea of using herself as a double, but it was Blackbird who convinced Walken to agree to the plan in the end.

The SR-71, escorted by Lt. Tsukuyomi in her Takemikazuchi met with the rebels' leader face to face. Things were going well, and it was apparent that Meiya's heartfelt words were reaching people on both sides of the conflict.

Meiya had gotten Sagiri Naoya to the point where he decided to surrender.

Suddenly, Blackbird closed his cockpit, yelling "Take cover!" on an open line to Sagiri.

Moments later, automatic fire and an explosion was heard.

"Hunter 2! What are you doing!" Major Walken cried desperately. However, that seemed to be the end of it.

Neither Sagiri's nor Meiya's side had any casualties. The explosion was seen to have come from the wreckage of a drone. It seemed that the drone had intercepted Hunter 2's unilateral fire.

As for Hunter 2, the unit had seemingly powered down and ejected the pilot spontaneously before she could do anymore damage. Not only Hunter 2, but a couple of Sagiri's units were in the same situation.

"What's going on?!" Sagiri exclaimed. Everyone was on edge, ready to react at the tiniest hint of aggression.

"This is Blackbird to all TSF's in the area, stand down!" he said unilaterally on an open channel. Most of them were surprised to find the one eyed face of such a young man ordering them around. "Captain Sagiri, Major Walken, on the authority of UN Security Council orders, I have remotely disabled the TSF's of double agents among your ranks."

"What?!" Captain Sagiri exclaimed.

"How can that be?" Major Walken denied, unable to accept the situation.

Other pilots also voiced being skeptical about all of that. However, they were all silenced by an authenticated datagram that showed the UN Security Council order.

"Captain Sagiri," Blackbird continued after the voices died down. "These Eishi, whom you probably trust as much as Major Walken trusts Hunter 2, were all agents who infiltrated your organization. You yourself described how the soldier that started the fighting in the capital was a double agent."

Sagiri could only be taken aback by everything. Was his whole coup built on lies?

"Captain, if you really want to keep this from getting worse, I hope you stand by your words earlier. End this coup."

After getting over the shock of what was happening around her Meiya also tried to persuade the Captain. Eventually, both side stood down, and the Captain kept his word. He made an announcement about the end of the coup, and reports flooded in about rebel forces all over the country laying down their arms.

The Shogun, with much of her previous powers restored, would try to make a framework where most of the rebels would be able to continue to serve, but the fates of men like Sagiri were all but sealed. Not only had the coup put Japan in a precarious position with the BETA, they had unwittingly almost let the country be dominated by the very foreign powers whose influence they were trying to expunge. Popular political pressure would spare him the ultimate punishment, but Sagiri would forever be disgraced officially in the Imperial Army.

But before any of that would come to pass, they still needed to get back to Yokohama Base. Not surprisingly, Blackbird had taken control of all the units in the area. No longer needing to take the risk of returning to Yokohama Base by sea, which would unnecessarily expose the Shogun to possible laser-class fire even if it was faster, Squad 207, the 19th, the Infinities, and the 66th started the long trek North East to Yokohama Base.

They would follow National Route 135 North along the East Coast, then go back the way they originally came to get to Tougashima Fortress near Lake Ashinoko.

The double agents were collected by a wheeled vehicle to the further interrogated at a nearby UN base. Meiya returned to her TSF, while Yuuhi went back to her seat. The Eishis that had surrendered with Sagiri would also accompany them back, as Yuuhi wanted to handle them directly at the capital. Yuuhi trusted that Sagiri would remain a man of his word, and Blackbird didn't bother to waste time disarming them. They would all stay ahead of the formation, where they could be watched, while the large number of units under his control would keep a formation to guard Blackbird all the way back.

The trek back to Yokohama was much less tense, with the need for speed not as high. Also, not having baddies chasing you helped.

It was almost noon by the time they reached the outskirts of Odawara, the ocean to their right. Everyone was exhausted by then, since they had pretty much been on the edge, pumped full of adrenaline since last night.

"Hunter 1, this is Blackbird Actual, any change in status?"

"Blackbird Actual, no change in status. I hope its smooth sailing to the next resupply point."

"Agreed Hunter 1," he replied, and cut communications.

Yuuhi had been pretty quiet ever since Sagiri's surrender. She had gotten some sleep along the way, but she was alert now. She had been fidgeting, so he started the conversation.

"I imagine that you have some questions you are burning to ask me?"

She hesitated, but after a while, she finally said started talking. It was mostly about Meiya, but she also asked him about some of the revelations he had made during Sagiri's surrender. With the relationship they had built, he didn't really mind telling her anything.

"Multiple contacts!" Major Walken suddenly reported.

"What's going on!?" he demanded. "Is it BETA?"

"No," Walken replied, "possibly several wings of unknowns coming in at multiple vectors. Looks like they're aiming directly at Blackbird."

Whoever they were, these people were clearly after the Shogun's life...

"Well, this is different..." he seemed to say to himself. "This is Blackbird Actual, all units prepare for contact. Shogun, I know this is a bit odd, but given the circumstances, I hope you will allow Sagiri's Eishis to assist us..."

"... yes, let it be so," she answered after giving it some thought. It was clearly not an easy decision, since so many things hung in the balance, and the wounds were still too raw. On the trek back, they saw firsthand the kind of destruction the coup had caused.

"You heard that Captain, you are all in this fight too."

"It will be a great honor to be able to serve Her Highness one last time!" he replied, overjoyed.

"20700 and Hunter 00, I temporarily return command of your units. The Shogun must not be harmed!"

"Roger!" the two leaders responded. On such short notice, it was better to let them handle their own units, as they were already familiar with them, and would know how to best organize a counterattack with their units strength. In the least, Marimo would know how to keep Squad 20700 safe.

"Infinities, weapons free!" he ordered. "I think it's about time we unleash the power of the XM8 on this world!" he added, megalomaniacally.

The enemy was a combination of American F-15E's, F-22's and Shiranuis. Clearly, the Alternative V supporters wanted to make a final stand here, now that Alternative IV had been putting so much pressure on them lately. They had gathered what remained of their double agents and ambushed the Shogun in a remote location between resupply points and possible reinforcements. Since it was clear that they had already been caught, they had thrown caution to the wind.

As Major Walken's and Captain Sagiri's forces comprised the majority of their defense, they were keeping a defense line, using the shore as their back. As veteran warriors, their cooperation went smoothly. Squad 207 comprised a support role, staying where it was safe, while the 19th kept guard of them.

The Infinities surrounded the SR-71, which simply watched the battle unfold from behind.

"Commander, it looks like we won't be debuting the XM8 today after all..." Keith said, almost sounding disappointed.

But as soon as he said that, more units surfaced behind them at the shoreline, catching them off guard. A combination of amphibious A-6 Intruders and F-22's tried to go after them while the defense line was busy. If the defense line tried to help them, their formation would crumble and all would be lost. Taking advantage of that, they tried to overwhelm the rear guard while they had the initiative.

Squad 207 started panicking, but Marimo got them under control. Blackbird ordered the Infinities to take them head on.

The F-22's in Major Walken's unit were impressive enough, given their 7:1 kill ratios against the Shiranuis. But the Infinities were much more nimble, much more brutal. They attacked their aggressors with tactics never seen before, movements that made their enemies dizzy with confusion.

Blackbird was to hold back, but some F-22's had broken through Sagiri's line and were making a straight line for it. But even with the Shogun on board, he remained calm.

"Yuuhi," he said, talking to her familiarly. The SR-71's engines started spooling up, ready to show the enemy what real power was. The incoming F-22's were all locked on to, even with their stealth profile, and some sort of calculations were being shown on the 360 degree display, real-time vectors painted onto each of the targets. "Forgive me, but it's about to get rough in here, please hold on tightly."

And with that, the Blackbird made its move. Accelerating horizontally at 8Gs, it twisted in the air moments before it kicked off of the first F-22 with its right leg. Jumping off the TSF horizontally, sending it crashing into the TSF behind it, the Blackbird landed on another F-22 before any of them could react. Again, the Blackbird jumped horizontally, sending its victim crashing into another, building up momentum with every jump. Over fifty had already been reduced to forty-three.

Each jump seemed to randomly land on a different TSF, causing their formation to fall apart. From afar, it looked like panicked children running from a black blur that moved too quickly to be seen. Their displays could only recognize it as a TSF for the one frame when its foot was buried in a TSF and it was jumping towards its next victim. Their OS simply could not lock onto something moving so quickly, leaving the F-22's practically unarmed, as they were only really trained to use their impressive cannons.

And then to their horror, some of the TSFs in its path were simply cut in half between its jumps, the black blur suddenly having lit up. The edges of the incisions burned white hot. The faint odor of ozone could be detected if the senses weren't overpowered by the field of war.

And in no time, the last TSF fell. The Blackbird jumped up off of it to halt its momentum; there were simply no more victims to jump into. It landed in the middle of the burning remains of a wing of dead F-22's with a huge thud. Its heat sinks were open, and with a loud hiss the Blackbird released its coolant. In each hand were what appeared to be an XCIWS-2B, the melee weapon of the discontinued YF-23 Black Widow. But the leading edge of the weapon was glowing bluish-white, the plasma charge crackling the air with ozone.

Inherently larger than most TSF's due to its design, the black TSF stood in the middle of the smoldering corpses in the midst of the battle, tower like a war god.

By then, the enemies had started retreating, unable to keep fighting the superior forces of Major Walken and Captain Sagiri. The amphibious forces had been efficiently decimated by the Infinities as well, but the display of raw power made by the SR-71 was what really sapped the willpower of the attackers. What kind of monster could do that much damage, to F-22's no less.

The scene had started calming down, with efforts being made to rescue the survivors.

"I need medical attention," Blackbird suddenly exclaimed. The black TSF had gone to the shore to better cool down, and went into a kneeling position, opening its cockpit. In a serious tone, he elaborated, "Her highness has lost consciousness."

Immediately, the 19th rushed to the Blackbird. Lt. Tsukuyomi was the first to reach them. Blackbird had lain her on the beach, checking her vitals.

"Out of the way!" she shouted, shoving him aside. "How dare someone like you touch Her Highness!"

"And how could you be so reckless with Her Highness riding with you?" one of the three idiots added.

"... that's enough." Yuuhi managed to say, defusing the situation.

Though she had experienced G-LOC because she had not had any high-G training, she recovered quickly and got back on her feet. Due to the SR-71 pilot's reckless behavior, and somewhat due to the awe and fear this unknown young man, who seemed no older than a cadet, inspired among battle hardened veterans, the Honor Guard again tried to take custody of the Shogun.

But Yuuhi would have none of that, and demanded she continue riding with the SR-71.

And it was not just the SR-71 that had impressed the veterans. Though the F-22 had made its combat debut in Japan today, it was easily discernable among all the Eishis that the Infinities' F-22's were different than Major Walken's. They made movements that seemed impossible, allowing them to dispatch the veteran F-22 enemies as if they were cadets. No doubt, Blackbird being their commander had something to do with it. And it was taken as a given that they must have been using some kind of experimental equipment, since they were a test flight and not a combat unit.

They remained alert the rest of the way to Yokohama Base, picking up reinforcements to bolster their numbers. UN and Imperial army units alike were added to their caravan; no one wanted to take any more risks. In particular, they wanted to make sure the SR-71 would not have to be in a position where it would need to defend itself, for Yuuhi's sake.

...

Around 2000 hrs, the caravan had arrived at Yokohama base. A full wing of the Imperial Honor Guard's Takemikazuchi was there to welcome the Shogun's arrival. As time was of the essence, Yuuhi quickly said her goodbyes to the people who she had gotten close to, and helped her in her time of need.

The 66th were to resupply and head back to their base, while Sagiri's pilots would be escorted by a different Imperial Army corp. The Imperial army would take custody of their TSFs at a later time, when things finally settled down. Squad 207 would go back to their barracks for some desperately needed rest.

The Infinities and the SR-71 would resupply at a maintenance hangar where an engineering team from the USS Mount Whitney was already waiting for them.

**Sunday, December 9, 2001**

Yuuko was still dealing with the pandemonium the aftermath of the coup caused. UN and US forces alike were constantly moving. US forces were finally leaving the area, while UN forces moved to cover the hole in the Imperial Army's defense line while the Empire of Japan recovered. The US 7th fleet, strangely, moved to reinforce the Imperial Navy on the defense line off Sadogashima instead of going back home. And the USS Mount Whitney voiced its intention that it would stay where it was with her escorts. No matter how much she hated it, she would have to waste more precious time not working on Alternative IV and dealing with all this nonsense. Though the coup was over, she felt like she was waiting for something to happen.

The coup sent ripples all the way to America. Arrest of the Alternative V agents, and their part in the coup seemed to temper emotions towards the coup d'état forces, giving the Shogun some leeway from having the Imperial Army fracture and disintegrate. It also afforded her an opportunity to consolidate power, recovering several functions she lost as a figurehead. Ultimately, it seemed like the coup had succeeded. There were even whispers that maybe this was a play by the Shogun herself, seeing how she was positioned now, but the interference of American factions made this view marginal at best. Which suited Yuuko, her contacts told her that Alternative IV was more secure than ever; she just had to complete it.

One piece of good news was that Squad 207 had graduated this morning. They would help replenish the Valkyries, given Marimo's report. Even though they were greenhorns, Marimo thought that they had behaved extremely well, given the circumstances. With time, they would become just as dependable as the 1rst Lieutenants right now.

Yoroi had thrown his plans to the wind and rushed to Yokohama base, in time to leave with the Shogun. It seems that even the master troller could be trolled. It was a relief that he could focus his energies somewhere else, now that he was gone. The whole time he was here, waiting for the Shogun, he was _intolerable_.

And then there was SR-71, sitting pretty on her base, right in the middle of this mess. What made her angry the most was that all of this seemed scripted somehow, and that she was but a pawn. Though he seemed to have helped secure Alternative IV's future, Yuuko couldn't help but wonder what he was really up to.

What she had learned from Yoroi was a real shock. Further investigation yielded even more mysteries. She knew that she would have to confront him, and soon.

...

Captain Isumi was immediately assigned to "escort" the young man the second he put his foot down in Yokohama Base. Seeing the SR-71 was impressive enough, but hearing the rumors about his performance during the battle was the stuff of legend. As a person, he seemed like a normal male cadet; he was hardly intimidating on sight. Surely his eye patch made him seem odd, but Eishis had suffered worse in battle. Haruka had suffered worse trauma and she was still steaming ahead. But his black TSF was plenty intimidating, easily towering over all the TSFs on base. It even had a custom engineering rig to resupply and maintain it; apparently, the USS Mount Whitney had sent it over beforehand.

This morning had been busy, with even more people asking the Infinities for sparring matches. No one could believe the way they made their TSFs move, and no one could mount a proper challenge; it was hard to fight their nimble, eccentric style, even if they were not piloting F-22's.

He just watched his subordinates, judging them. No one bothered to ask him; after seeing his onslaught, no one who was there dare even approach him.

After lunch things were dying down. The Infinities went off to do their own things. The VC didn't seem interested in them, so Isumi just kept accompanying the American pilot. It felt like a waste, but the VC was very serious about this assignment, so she did not ask any questions.

"Do you mind if we go to the shooting range?" he asked her, breaking his normal routine.

The VC said that as long as it was not underground, she would not have to stop him, so she agreed. At the shooting range, he checked out an M4A1 assault rifle and a remote weapons system to mount it on. He also took a bunch of live ammo...

He found a part of the range no one was using, and set up the remotely controlled M4A1. He moved it with the controller until he was satisfied with something.

"Captain," he asked politely, as if he was about to ask to borrow her pen, "would you mind shooting at me?"

"..."

"And please make sure you aim for my head, otherwise it's pointless."

"Are you an idiot?" Isumi asked reflexively. Her hands covered her mouth too late. Even if he was younger, did not intimidate her, and had an eye patch, he had directly implemented an order from the UN Security Council. And add to that that he was piloting a TSF never seen outside of America, she knew that he must have been high up the chain of command, especially given the events of yesterday. "I m-mean, are you sure about that? Your Armored Suit can't protect your head..." she said, embarrassed.

"Don't mind," he simply stated. He walked about 100m from the gun and pulled out his Marines issued M9 handgun. Did he intend to do a quick draw against a remote controlled carbine? "Captain, you may fire when ready," he said, aiming at the M4, using a flashlight holding posture.

"Are you really sure about this?" she asked dubiously. Maybe he intended to dodge? She knew the VC probably would not care if the young man was smoked in an "accident," but it was Isumi's ass on the line...

"It works best if I don't know when it's coming," he insisted. By now, a bunch of witnesses spectators had come to see the odd display. It would be too late to pin this on him now...

Hoping that she was not about to commit a murder, she aimed for his chest, which would at least prevent the bullets from killing him. She made a single, semi-automatic burst.

Ratata!

Pew!Pew!Pew!

"Woah!"

"That was amazing!"

"Do it again!"

Since the spectators were cheering, Isumi looked up and was relieved to find that he was still alive, smoke coming out of his pistol's barrel.

_He didn't actually shoot down the bullets, right? Right!?_

"Come on captain, I've got 12 more round in the magazine," he said, amused, "give me 4 semi bursts in a row, let's give these people a real show!"

_This guy is crazy... crazier than Hayase. Oh God, if Hayase saw this, what if she wanted to compete with him!_

"Y-yes sir!" she finally replied. This stuff was just too crazy... shooting bullets in the air... This time, after aiming, she watched what happened while pulling the trigger.

The insane spectacle continued for almost an hour before they exhausted all of the ammo he had checked out. The floor under each gun was littered with spent casings, while the area between the pilot and the carbine was riddled with bullet fragments. Around her, the crowd continued to grow, with several bets being placed as this insane exercise continued. By the time they left, Isumi could only look at the young man as some kind of elite special forces... maybe he really was an Orbital Diver?

"The human body," he suddenly started saying, on their way back to the maintenance hangar, "takes about 250ms to pull a trigger on average."

"Uhuh..." she replied. Of course, she was curious about what had just transpired, but she had stayed quiet about it.

"Traveling at Mach 10, that is just under the amount of time needed to travel 1km..."

"I see..." she politely replied, not sure what that had to do with anything; bullets rarely went past Mach 1.

"The SR-71 is a failed TSF project," he revealed, taking her by surprise. "At its maximum cruise speed of Mach 5, test pilots could barely survive combat simulations on the real TSF. The idea of a supersonic combat TSF was forgotten in the annals of history, since the hardware was just too much for the software and the pilots to keep up with. The SR-71 was never really considered a secret, which is why it shows up in the UN IFF database."

"..."

"To pilot it, I have a weekly training regimen that I have to follow, among which, I need to be able to take down bullets."

"I see..." she said, realizing just what kind of monster she was dealing with.

"I was lucky to come across her, and get her running again. You see, for the last month, I have been based in Area 51 in Nevada. I am part of the Super Elite Soldier plan in the American army, the SES plan."

"Really..." she asked. Was he telling her classified material about the US, or was he trolling her?

"Yes, I am the last of the 00 agents. I am SES009!"

He was definitely trolling her. This was the kind of nonsense that someone his (apparent) age would come up with. But then again, he was shooting at bullets...

They arrived at the entrance of the maintenance hanger, where the rest of the Valkyries were waiting with the VC in the shade.

He checked the time on his chronometer and mumbled to no one in particular, "Nice timing!" Then, he whispered to her, "That was all just a story I made up, there's no such thing as Area 51," before he went up to the VC. Not really sure what to make of him, Isumi took her place among her squad.

"It seems you've given my Eishis quite the show today," Yuuko said calmly.

"Ah, sorry about that," he apologized in a blatant lie. The two stood in front of each other, Yuuko with her arms crossed in front of her looking down at him. He kept a relaxed posture, as if they were friends meeting up for the first time in a while, a small smile on the corner of his lips.

"Allow me to introduce myself," she finally started. "Vice-Commander Kouzuki Yuuko. Welcome to Yokohama Base." She held her hand out to shake.

"Thank you, Yuuko-sensei," he said, taking her hand and shaking it firmly. Yuuko instantly had a vein throb due to how cheeky he was. Even for an American, he was being way too familiar. He let her hand go.

"Allow me to first thank you for the hospitality you have extended to the Infinities and I."

_Because you just traipsed in here!_

"And allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shirogane Takeru."

"Big shock!" the Author lamented sarcastically.

"Ah... he said it..." Yuuko mumbled to no one in particular. _I thought he would at least try to hide it for a while..._

"As Rear Admiral of the US 7th fleet," he started, taking everyone by surprise. He clearly had a Japanese name, and was so young... how did he get his commission?

With a triumphant smile, he continued, "Under UN Security Council Order S/RES/1379 (2001)," taking Yuuko by surprise. She didn't think he was officially working for the UN in any capacity. In a matter of fact tone, he finished, "Effective December 09, 1400 hrs, I hereby take command of Alternative IV."

BOOM! BOOM!

Before anyone could react to that bombshell, several sonic booms came from above. On instinct, everyone look at the sky and saw a large number of HSSTs braking from re-entry, on approach to land at the base.

Walking past them all into the maintenance bay, he added seriously, "Captain Isumi, meet me in the briefing room at 1600 hrs."

"Huh?"

"The invasion of Sadogashima will commence on December 25th."


End file.
